Peace and Development Officer at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life for themselves. It provides expert advice, training and grants support to developing countries, with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries. It promotes technical and investment cooperation among nations.

Headquartered in New York City, the status of UNDP is that of an executive board within the United Nations General Assembly. The UNDP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states. The organization operates in 177 countries, where it works with local governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity.

We are recruiting to fill the position below:

Job Title: Peace and Development Officer

Job ID: 33067
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Practice Area - Job Family: Crisis Prevention and Recovery - Peace And Development
Grade: NOB
Vacancy Type: FTA Local
Posting Type: Common System
Contract Duration: 1 Year with possibility for extension

Background

• Violent conflict has surged in recent years, and in 2016, more countries experienced violent conflict than at any time in nearly 30 years. While the complex relationship between conflict, security and development is increasingly understood, international assistance and investment in conflict prevention have remained relatively low. At the same time, approaches to preventing conflict have been refined considerably, as policy and practice on peacebuilding have evolved – and the UN, its Member States and other partners are increasingly looking to prevention as a critical strategy for sustaining peace and nurturing development. Conflict prevention is increasingly recognised as a rational and cost-effective strategy for countries at risk of violence and for the international community.
• The joint UNDP-DPPA programme on building national capacities for conflict prevention has made a ground-breaking contribution in bridging the gap between political engagement and development assistance in pursuit of preventing conflict and sustaining peace. In its new phase (2019-2023), the Joint UNDP-DPPA Programme will further strengthen the analytical capacities of national stakeholders and the UN system in support of Member States’ efforts to advance policy and programmatic coherence on conflict prevention and support strategies for sustaining peace.
• The deployment of Peace and Development Advisors and has been the primary instrument of the Joint Programme to provide capacity for Resident Coordinators and UN Country Teams to support national partners in dialogue and national or local mediation processes, the establishment and operationalization of national infrastructures and mechanisms for peace; and other initiatives aimed at sustaining peace. There are currently 49 PDA positions across the globe.
• In an effort to ensure that PDAs are better equipped and empowered to deliver on their mandates, the Joint Programme has established in a number of contexts small ‘Peace and Development teams’ where a national Peace and Development Officer provides reinforced capacity to the PDA’s engagement in support of the RCOs and UNCTs in the area of conflict prevention and sustaining peace.
• Nigeria remains a strategic country in Africa. However, the country faces significant challenges posed by violent conflicts which have impacted negatively on the country’s development endeavours despite the enormous potentials. This position is part of the overall strategic response to enhance national capacities to respond to the challenges and assist in accompanying the country in the effective implementation of the SDGs, especially in a difficult context of the post-COVID-19 recovery.
• The National PDA in Nigeria will assist the PDA in providing top-notch analyses and support to the Resident Coordinator and the UNCT to effectively respond to the multiple development challenges through the One UN approach.

Duties and Responsibilities
The Peace and Development Officer works under the direct supervision and guidance of the PDA, to provide substantive support in three main areas of activity, including:

• Assist on research, information-gathering and analysis with specific focus on supporting and promoting peacebuilding and conflict prevention;   
• Identify entry-points and support inclusive and conflict-sensitive approaches in efforts to build national capacities for conflict prevention, particularly with regard to civil society, including women’s and youth networks;
• Provide technical support for coordination, partnerships and M&E;

Under the direct supervision of the PDA, the main duties and responsibilities of the PDO will include:

Assisting on research, information-gathering and analysis with specific focus on supporting and promoting peacebuilding and conflict prevention:

• Gather and process data and information relevant to the UN’s role and activities in [country] and the sub-region as relevant, with specific focus on supporting and promoting peacebuilding, social cohesion, conflict prevention and sustainable development [or any area of particular focus in the country];
• Support the PDA in undertaking political, political economy and/or conflict analysis, monitoring the situation in the country, and reporting of issues related to peace and security, including through analysis of local sources;
• Carry out and coordinate research on particular issues and thematic areas such as: typologies of conflicts (natural resource, identify and political); structural and drivers of conflict; environment, climate change induced conflicts; humanitarian-development-peace nexus; SDG16 and agenda 2030; women and youth in peace and security in Nigeria, etc.

Identifying entry-points and support inclusive and conflict-sensitive approaches in efforts to build national capacities for conflict prevention, particularly with regard to civil society, including women’s and youth networks:

• Assist the PDA in identifying areas of programmatic engagement with national stakeholders related to social cohesion, dialogue, conflict prevention and consensus building; and contribute to the development of conflict-sensitive approaches;
• Under the guidance of the PDA, support the exploration of entry points with key national counterparts including the Government and civil society;
• Advise on mainstreaming conflict-sensitive approaches; including provision of training UN Country Team staff and key national partners on conflict analysis, conflict prevention and/or conflict-sensitive development;
• Undertake mappings and analysis with civil society actors’ (including youth, women, and marginalized groups) capacities for conflict prevention/ peacebuilding at local and national level, using the exercise to inform the support provided by the PDA and UNCT throughout the duration of the assignment;
• Support the PDA in their engagement with national and local stakeholders, focusing particularly on engaging with civil society actors at local level and academia, to help link local initiatives to national-level institutions, structures and processes, as well as reinforcing dialogue between government and civil society and/or people-to-people dialogues.

Provide technical support for coordination, partnerships and M&E:

• Support the external coordination of existing partnerships between stakeholders (government, civil society, private sector and the international community, including the UN system).
• In close collaboration with the PDA and the Joint Programme Secretariat, support monitoring and evaluation function, including collecting, processing and analyzing data in the framework of peace and development team workplan;
• Support knowledge management and sharing of good practices on conflict prevention and peacebuilding; ensure that stories and lessons learned are shared with the Joint Programme Secretariat; and respond to specific requests for information; and
• Perform an array of duties that support UN coordination and effective Peace and Development Team programme implementation. These may include: assisting in organizing meetings and consultations, organizing and implementing consultation processes with national and international partners. Perform an array of duties that support UN coordination and effective Peace and Development Team program implementation. These may include: assisting in organizing meetings and consultations, organizing and implementing consultation processes with state, national and international partners.

Required Skills and Experience
Education:

• Advanced university degree (Master's Degree) in Political Science, Sociology, International Relations, International Economics, Law, Public Administration, or other related Social Sciences.
• In lieu of an Advanced degree, a Bachelor university degree with additional 04 years of experience.

Experience:

• Minimum of two (2) years of progressively responsible experience in conflict analysis, development and/or conflict prevention in a governmental, multilateral or civil society organization
• Extensive experience in analysis, research and sound drafting skills, with emphasis on experience in leading policy briefings, analytical reports, and assessments at country level (evidence samples may be required).
• Experience in project/programme development, management.
• Experience in national and community-level conflict prevention and peacebuilding initiatives and programming, including engagement in multi-level mediation processes.
• In-depth knowledge of and extensive experience in (country/region) in infrastructure for peace (I4P) development, including in dialogue and conflict prevention initiatives; and awareness and familiarity of key actors and stakeholders across the political, economic, and development spheres alongside knowledge of government, civil society, and other non-state actors.
• Knowledge of ICT, including organization of multi-stakeholder virtual meetings and consultations, etc.
• Extensive experience in analysis, research and sound drafting skills;
• Experience in project/programme development, management.

Language Requirements:

• Fluent written and spoken English is required.

Competencies
Core:

Innovation:

• Ability to make new and useful ideas work: Adept with complex concepts and challenges convention purposefully

Leadership:

• Ability to persuade others to follow: Generates commitment, excitement and excellence in others

People Management:

• Ability to improve performance and satisfaction: Models independent thinking and action

Communication:

• Ability to listen, adapt, persuade and transform: Synthesizes information to communicate independent analysis

Delivery:

• Ability to get things done while exercising good judgement: Meets goals and quality criteria for delivery of products or services

Technical / Functional
Social Cohesion:

• Knowledge of methods and experience of supporting communities to achieve greater inclusiveness, more civic participation and creating opportunities for upward mobility: Contributes skills and knowledge with demonstrated ability to advance innovation and continuous improvement, in professional area of expertise.

Peacebuilding and Reconciliation:

• Ability to support peace processes to facilitate recovery and development: Contributes skills and knowledge with demonstrated ability to advance innovation and continuous improvement, in professional area of expertise.

Conflict-Sensitive Programming:

• Ability to use methods and tools to monitor conflict triggers and determine impact of various dynamics in conflict-prone situations: Contributes skills and knowledge with demonstrated ability to advance innovation and continuous improvement, in professional area of expertise.

Conflict Analysis and Risk Assessment:

• Knowledge of conflict analysis and risk assessment concepts and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations: Contributes skills and knowledge with demonstrated ability to advance innovation and continuous improvement, in professional area of expertise.

Gender:

• Knowledge of gender issues and the ability to apply to strategic and/or practical situations, including analysis of projects from a gender perspective: Contributes skills and knowledge with demonstrated ability to advance innovation and continuous improvement, in professional area of expertise.

Civil Society Engagement:

• Knowledge to create and implement civil society initiatives and apply across peace and development work: Contributes skills and knowledge with demonstrated ability to advance innovation and continuous improvement, in professional area of expertise.

Knowledge Management:

• Ability to efficiently handle and share information and knowledge: Contributes skills and knowledge with demonstrated ability to advance innovation and continuous improvement, in professional area of expertise.

Application Closing Date
4th November, 2020 (Midnight New York, USA)

How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online

Important Applicant Information

•  Qualified female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply
• UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement.  We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements.
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